Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms (Technology In Action) - Softcover

Dave Baum

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1893115097 ISBN 13: 9781893115095

Publisher: Apress, 2000

Synopsis

The Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System is clearly a new kind of toy. Introduced in the Fall of 1998, Lego Mindstorms quickly became L egoFs best-selling kit of all time. But the market data proved to be t he real surprise. From its surveys, Lego found that the median purchas ing age for the Mindstorms kit is 23. LegoFs Mindstorms kit enables an yone to build a programmable robot with an assortment of Lego pieces t hat snap, slide and clink into place. The Mindstorms Programmable Bric k, called the RCX, contains a microcomputer that enables those who bui ld robots to then program their movement. Sensors and motors move, but it can also sense and respond to its environment. Given this toyFs ca pabilities, itFs not surprising that a whole generation of adults inte rested in robotics or programming is rediscovering Lego through Mindst orms.

About this title

Review

LEGO blocks, originally mere children's toys, have everything to do with expressing creativity within a structured system. There are rules about how pieces fit together, but almost anything can be created within those restrictions. Building with LEGO blocks is a lot like writing software (a similarity Douglas Coupland emphasizes in Microserfs). Small wonder, then, that LEGO Mindstorms have been such a huge hit. In Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms, the reader gets an introduction to what Mindstorms robots can do, particularly in terms of sensing their environment and reacting to it.

Baum invented Not Quite C (NQC), a language that's closer to standard C than LEGO's standard RCX Code programming language. He uses both NQC and RCX code in this book to show how to build and program a series of increasingly capable Mindstorms robots. He starts with Tankbot, a single-minded critter that navigates its programmed route without regard for obstacles. Later chapters detail Bugbot (which uses insect-like feelers to sense obstacles and employs code to navigate around them), Linebot (which follows a dark line using optical sensors), and Scanbot (which heads toward the brightest light its swiveling head can find). A very cool Vending Machine robot dispenses small candies in response to infrared signals or a pattern of bumps on a card. Several other equally nifty robots (there are 14 in total) get the same attention, which includes information on their mechanical construction and their operating software.

Rather than rely on photographs, Baum uses computer-generated drawings of the various mechanical components. These show how the parts fit together with as much clarity as you can expect from a two-dimensional model, though exploded views might make certain assemblies even easier to understand.

Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms will prime your creative thought processes as you begin to design your own Mindstorms robots. It's a great introduction to Mindstorms for kids and grownups alike. --David Wall

Topics covered: Building and programming LEGO Mindstorms robots, including the functions of the various mechanical pieces, the operation of motors, and the capabilities of sensors. On the logical side, there are introductions to both LEGO's RCX Code language and Baum's own Not Quite C (NQC). The rest takes the form of a Mindstorms laboratory, in which Baum guides the reader through the creation of increasingly "smart" robots. Baum's code works with Mindstorms 1.0 and 1.5.

From the Publisher

Definitive Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS was originally written for the RIS 1.0 and 1.5 sets. Lego has recently released RIS 2.0, and although the Definitive Guide has not been updated, it remains an effective way to get more out of your MINDSTORMS set.

Edition details

• Publisher: Apress
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1893115097
• ISBN 13: 9781893115095
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400